Living in a vehicle full time... serious replies please :)

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Truck drivers do it for a living.

A friend of a friend lived in a lorry cab on some waste land for years.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
An acquaintance who drove a pan-European lorry decided to live in it to save for a deposit on a house.

Last I heard he was about 18 months in and still on track.

His employer had several lorries fitted with extra large belly fuel tanks.

The idea was the lorry would only need refuelling in the Middle East, where diesel is much cheaper.
 

mudsticks

Obviously an Aubergine
Truck drivers do it for a living.

A friend of a friend lived in a lorry cab on some waste land for years.

It used to be a very quick and cheap way of getting across Europe .

Hitch a lift with a south or northbound lorry - and you could sleep in the back of the cab whilst they drove long distance.

Even got a few 'free passages' across the channel on the 'co-drivers' ticket

You might have to show slightly more interest in 'stories of the road' than was strictly there -
-but on the whole a nice bunch of guys who just wanted some relief from the lonely monotony of endless driving.

Don't sp'ose its allowed so much nowadays - insurance etc etc .
 

Zanelad

Guru
Location
Aylesbury
I've slept in the back of my car a few times. It was a Saab 900 and with the back seats folded down there was more than enough room. I used to go to open meetings to race my sailing dinghy and kipping in the car was better than faffing about with a tent. Quite pleasant in the summer month, the rear windows were hinged and could be opened to allow air to circulate.. I'd not be so keen in the winter.

Spending a few hours asleep in the car is a world away from living in it full time. How would one occupy oneself over a long, wet weekend? Living on takeaway food is neither healthy, nor cheap. At least in a van one could move around a bit, but sat in a car, no thanks.
 
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johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Way back in the mid 80s my parents spilt up.
My dad left the house without a penny to rub together and ended up homeless. For six months which included the winter he lived in his Citroën GSA which was parked up on some waste land a few miles from the family home. He was working, but the wages were small, and that combined with paying monies owed and a raging drink problem he was going nowhere fast in life.
Every Sunday with out fail, come rain or shine i would cycle the 5 miles to see him.
At the time i was barely a teenager and it was quite distressing to see my once super hero dad who i looked up to, living in skid row. It also felt embarrassing to talk to anybody about it to. Mum was just very bitter about everything and was struggling with her health, and with no brothers or sisters, i had nobody to confide in. As kids "were" back in the 80s, telling any school friends this situation would of been a great opportunity for them to tease, so i kept it all to myself.
It was not a pretty sight or prospect biking over to see him on a Sunday morning. You was wondering what state he would be in after the night before. Cycling through town and turning through a narrow archway i was met by this rotten Citroën parked up out of sight from prying eye's. The car was completely knackered and looked a shadow of its former self when he had it new a good few years back.
I would gingerly knock on the door and mire often than not i would wake him up suffering a hangover. It was not a pretty sight to say the least. As i couldn't practically sit in the car because of his personal belongs cluttering it up, i would lock my old Peugeot Equipe bike to a lampost and spend sometime with him either down a cafe or in a pub, to which i hated the latter.
The car in the winter was awful for his health. The condensation in it was dripping off the windows and would freeze up the inside glass solid, He was constantly suffering with colds and ill health from dossing down in it.
It was heartbreaking /embarrassing to see him reduced to such a level and would quite often wonder what i was going to find every Sunday morning i cycled up to see him..
Thankfully after 6 months he started to get back on his feet again and found a bedsit. The drinking was still a problem but at least he was now warm and safe. As time passed by, he managed to curb his drinking and money became less tight. He worked hard and ended up buying a small bungalow.
Today at nearly 80 he's happily married again and lives right on the sea front living the dream. I'm so glad he's come through this fighting strong.
After seeing how and what he went through, it was always my worst nightmare to think of how to end up in life.
Strangely enough it did for me to a lesser extent. 5 years back i broke up with my long time wife, and whilst going through the chaotic time, i ended up sleeping in my car. My work place almost became my home in a strange sense. Although I was there to earn a living, i looked at it as a place to stay warm, use the toilet facilities and wash and eat before reluctantly driving off to sleep somewhere in the car. This only happened for a very short time, but to think of it happening for any length of time is unthinkable.
All the best
Johnny.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Just left a warm living room to put something in the garage. Whilst there, I started tinkering for 3 or 4 mins. Brrrr!

Can't imagine sleeping in a tin can overnight. There is money saving and there is self harm.
 

mudsticks

Obviously an Aubergine
Just left a warm living room to put something in the garage. Whilst there, I started tinkering for 3 or 4 mins. Brrrr!

Can't imagine sleeping in a tin can overnight. There is money saving and there is self harm.
It is a bit nippy right now :sad:

Gives you pause for thought when you pass a person sleeping on multiple layers of cardboard in a shop doorway.


Someone (who should have known much better) once remarked to me.

"I don't know why these people living on the streets so often have dogs.. I mean if they can't afford rent, how can they afford dog food?? " :wacko:

I do go camping in these temperatures, but I've got a fancy pants winter sleeping bag, and insulated mat..

And a warm home to come back to.. :smile:
 

mudsticks

Obviously an Aubergine
Update... he has finally decided that living in a Skoda is not the best thing to do right at this moment and will be staying in someone's house for a while and (quote) will embark on the wondering life as winter and corvid fades away. :okay:

Ah yes, perhaps next year eh?? :rolleyes:

Maybe it's a northern thing, but how do the crows figure in all this ?? :wacko:
 
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